Today, Roger Penske is known as a former racecar driver and one of the richest and most successful NASCAR team owners. However, if one turns over the pages of his long and impressive resume, one would know that there was a time when this man owned a Formula 1 team. So much so that his team still holds the record of being the last American team to win an F1 Grand Prix, the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix.
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But when did he start running his cars in the F1? And why did he even stop? Why is this F1 venture covered just in a footnote on Team Penske’s official website?
Although Penske never replicated the success that he has in the arena of Indy cars, if there was anyone who could make it big in the sport considering its expenses and challenges, it was Roger Penske. With its debut in the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the team fielded cars merely for a couple of F1 GP in 1971 and from 1974 to 1976.
For the final two races of 1972, i.e., the Canadian GP and the US GP, Penske funded the iconic blue and yellow Penske/Sunoco Livery McLaren. With Mark Donohue behind its wheels, Penske’s attempt at F1 saw a respectable third-place finish in the Canadian Grand Prix. Unfortunately, Donohue couldn’t take part in the US Grand Prix because of a scheduling conflict and it was just David Hobbs, who drove at the event and got Penske a top-10 finish.
It was at that moment that Roger Penske decided to participate actively in the sport. In 1973, he bought a small car manufacturing shop in the UK that built the Formula 5000, where he later built a new car (the Penske PC1) for the 1974 Canadian GP with only six employees under his wing. Although Donohue came back for the Canadian GP and recorded a P12 finish, his US GP attempt got ruined due to a failed rear suspension. Despite being powered by the Cosworth DFV V8, the Penske PC1’s lackluster performance, backed by the lack of members in Penske’s team, prevented the team from shining too brightly.
Why did Roger Penske shut his team down?
It all started with the tragic death of his right-hand man, Mark Donohue. At the qualifying of the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix, Donohue suffered from a concussion as the result of a crash. Although he regained his senses at the care center, it seemed like the damage to his brain was severe. He had to undergo a brain surgery which, unfortunately, was unsuccessful and he breathed his last at the age of 38.
But that wasn’t why Penske quit F1. In an interview, he said, “With Donohue losing his life in Formula 1 was really a point where I thought I would stop, but we then got together and said, ‘He’d want us to continue.’ We had to win with John Watson.”
But it got to a point where Penske had too much on his plate. Being overseas for the F1 races and still managing business at Penske Cars was impossible for him. “It was more because of the schedule I had and the commitments I had in the US,” said the 86-year-old team owner. “We had the business Penske Cars, which was very successful; built some great cars and in fact, when you think about that ’78 Indy car, ’79 winner (Rick) Mears, that was a byproduct of a Formula 1 car with a Cosworth in it but it was primarily due to the fact that I could publicly see for the company what we could do would get more bang for our buck here.”
The rest is history. Today, Team Penske is one of the most successful teams in the arena of NASCAR, with two of its most talented drivers winning the Cup Series championship two years in a row.
